Three Tailed Fox
by Shinigami29
Summary: [AUish] Akira is acting strange... why? And who is this mysterious girl without her own past?
1. Prologue

**Prologue**

_He walked farther and farther into the forest, the darkness almost consuming him. Tears cascaded down his porcelain cheeks, reminding him why he was out here._

'No, it isn't true.'_ He thought to himself. _'I don't believe it. They are alive. They'll be waiting for me... it isn't true...'

_The trees parted, allowing a stream to come through, and he sat down on the bank silently. His tail curled around his waist as he looked around himself, ears drooping. Whiping away his tears, he waited. For what? He didn't know._

_"Why are you sad?" he jumped at the voice. Whipping around, he saw a young girl, younger than himself, staring at him with large, dark green eyes. "Did you scrape your knee?"_

_"I'm not sad," he responded, cocking his head at her curiously. He noticed the three tails waving behind her slowly, and the large, pointed ears. "Who are you?"_

_"I'm Nekoi," she came closer to him, raising a delicate hand to brush away the remaining tears. "And who are you? Why were you crying?"_

_"I wasn't crying," he answered._

_"You were too," she said stubbornly. "I saw you. You were crying."_

_"I haven't seen you around here before," he changed the subject, looking away from her and back to the stream. "Where did you come from?"_

_"Up in the mountains," she moved to sit next to him, one of her tails curling around his waist as well. "Want to be my friend?"_

_"I dun got no friends."_

_"Better yet!" she grinned, though he didn't see. "We can be bestest friends!"_

_"Bestest ain't a word," he glared at her out of the corner of his eye. "Leave me alone."_

_"Well ain't ain't no word either," she stuck her tongue out at him. "And no, I'm staying right here. This is my stream."_

_"I was playing at this stream before you were born," he countered._

_"Prove it!" she challenged him. He sniffed the air, and was imediately bombarded with a million different smells. Turning to her, he allowed her smell to waft up to his nostrils. "Why are you smelling?"_

_"Smelling to see how long you've been here," he answered. "And you haven't been here that long." She pouted, but he ignored her. "Now leave."_

_"Okay," her voice was tiny and small as she stood up, and he missed the warmth of her tail around his waist. "I'll go back to the mountains now... bye byes..." He listened as she walked towards the trees..._

_"My parents died," he muttered. She stopped. Bitting his lip, he continued. "There was a fire... there wasn't nothing I could do... I watched them burn to death..."_

_"My parents were killed under the ice," he jumped, turning only to see her sitting beside him again. "They broke through it as they were crossing the river, way up near it's birth, and the current pulled them along, until there was no more broken ice. I wasn't strong enough to make a hole."_

_He stared at her as she curled up, all three of her tails folding around her to make a protective blanket. A fine sweat had started to prick at her skin as she started to shake, and he could hear her breathing quicken._

_"You're brave," he muttered, hesitantly wrapping an arm around her shoulders. "To go through all of that and not cry..."_

_"It was three years ago," she smiled up at him, crystalline droplets resting eternally on her lashing. "I don't cry anymore."_

_"Three years?" he blinked. "Where's the rest of your pack?"_

_"They died," she answered. "They all died, underneath the ice."_

_Bitting his lip, he couldn't think of who to cry for... his parents of this girl infront of him. He held her close, crying for both instead._


	2. Not Another Day

**Not Another Day**

Akira sat behind the bar as Nozomu and Mahiru danced to Katsura's music; Nozomu's humming was loud enough that Akira didn't even need his gifts to hear it. Rolling his eyes, he placed a wine glass on the counter and rummaged around in a cubboard for some raspberry wine.

"Should you be drinking that?" he jumped, hitting his head. Turning around slowly, he glared at Misoka.

"Why not?" he asked, rubbing the lump on his head. "S'not like I'm gonna have lotsa it... just a glass!"

"Right," Misoka rolled his eyes behind his glasses and sat down on a bar stool. "I don't think I've ever seen you drink before."

"Because I don't often," Akira shrugged as he found the wine, pulling it up with him. "Care to share a toast with me?"

"Maybe half a glass," Misoka relented after a moment of pouting from Akira. "I heard somewhere that it's good for you."

"Good for humans," Akira amended, taking out another glass and filling them both half way. "So it must terrific for us!"

"Are you sick?" Misoka asked. "Your acting almost... serious."

"Fine, fine..." Akira muttered, raising his glass. "To the murders of Fire and Ice."

"Fire and Ice," Misoka repeated. The smaller boy sipped his wine, admiring the taste on his tongue, before he let the glass set on the table. "Murders of fire and ice? What is this about?"

"It's an age old toast I used to make," Akira grinned sheepishly as he took a sip of the wine. The red stained his lips. "Though when I was younger, I made it with water."

"Weren't allowed in the liquor cabnet?" Misoka cocked an eyebrow, looking at the younger, yet taller, boy.

"Koi wasn't allowed," Akira answered. He took another sip of wine.

"Who's Koi?" Misoka pressed.

Akira tried to answer quickly out of reflex, but the wine in his throat caused him to choke. Doubling over, he pounded on his chest as he coughed, liquid dripping down his chin.

"Akira?" when he looked back up, Mahiru and Nozomu were there, looking at him worriedly. "Are you okay?"

"I'm fine," he grinned. "Don't worry about me Princess..." he pretended to yawn, placing his glass in the sink. "I'm gonna hit the hay... night!" Turning around, he dashed into the back and up the stairs, hoping he hadn't looked suspicious.

"There's something suspicious about how he's acting..." Misoka muttered as Nozomu sat down next to him.

"Definately," the Vampire agreed. "Any clues as to why?"

"Only something about the murders of fire and ice," Misoka said. He looked at Mahiru. "Does this ring any bells, Princess?"

Mahiru was silent, searching her memory for anything that could help. "No," she said at a length, "I can't think of anything to do with fire and ice. Sorry."

"It's alright Girlie," Nozomu grinned at her. "It's not your fault... I'm sure Akira is just fine."

"Yeah," Mahiru nodded, looking up the stairs. "I hope so..."

--------

Akira was sitting on his bed, watching his feet swing back and forth. A million moments times a million more were playing through his mind, and had been all day; If it were not for the seriousness of the moments that he was remembering, he would of been perfectly normal. A million moments times a million more crossed his mind a million times everyday, making this like any other... but Koi was in these thoughts.

_'Koi...' _he thought breathelessly. _'Koi... what would I give just to see you once more? But that's not to be... I just hope that, wherever you are, you're following are tradition and toasting to the Murders of Fire and Ice...'_

He raised his hand, as if he were holding a drink, and tipped it back to take a sip. "To the Murders of Fire and Ice. Fire and Ice, Koi, Fire and Ice."


	3. Herein

**Herein**

Misoka played his fingers across the delicate glass rim in front of him, listening to the sounds of the rain outside. It was intoxicating, the steady rhythm invading the peace of the deserted bar; Not even Katsura got up this early. This peace, however pleasant, was not destined to last... a rattling of the handle on the front door shook the Fox-Demon out of his ravine. He looked to his door, only to see it shake again, before someone started pounding.

Curiosity got the better of him as he slowly stood and walked towards the entrance. Each step made the rattling louder, and he sped up, fearing that the weak lock might snap under the pressure; Sure enough, he wasn't five feet away when it did.

Into the Moonshine fell a drenched girl. She laid there, shivvering for long moments before she sat up. She pushed her long, matted hair out of her eyes and looked up at Misoka. "Sorry," she muttered, "I just don't like the rain..."

"Right," Misoka nodded. "Well... you should le-" Before the Fox-Demon could finish, a bout of pain hit him, tearing at his stomach and stretching out to his limbs, forcing him in two. Gentle hands were soon rubbing his back, easing him to the ground. They left and the door closed, and after a minute returned with a damp cloth.

"Are you okay?" the girl muttered. Misoka managed a nod. "Right, and I'm the living reincarnation of Luna... is there anyone else living here?" Another nod. "Where?"

"U-upst-stairs..." He prayed to the Goddess that she wasn't a burglar and listened as her silent footsteps dashed behind the bar and up the stairs. Hopefully, someone would be there to help...

He cried out at another sharp prod of pain, hissing as he held his stomach tightly, trying to squash the sensation. When would he be cured? Would he ever be cured? If not, than why hasn't the Goddess had mercy on him and taken him quickly? Did he deserve this?

"Misoka!" It was Nozomu's voice, and soon enough the young Vampire was by his side, pulling him up to rest in his lap. Misoka opened his eyes just a little, seeing Nozomu's messy, bedroom hair and the girl over in a corner, bitting her lip. "Hold in there Misoka! It'll be alright!"

Something strange was happening to the girl... she didn't look right. He concentraited on her instead of the pain: sad look, glazed expression, drooping ears, lowered tails... Wait, tails?

"Can I help?" she muttered. Nozomu looked up at her.

"What can you do?" he asked, noticing her large ears and tails, but not registering what they signified. "He can only wait this out, you can't help him!"

"I can try," she muttered as she walked towards them. She nealt down beside them, and for awhile, she seemed to shimmer silver and gold. "I can try to take it away... I haven't done it in a long time, but I can still try..."

-------

_"Nekoi!" he laughed over his shoulder. He was ten now, and still couldn't believe that she had been with him and the pack for four years now... "Come and catch me Nekoi!"_

_"I'm coming!" her voice was closer than he expected, so he started running faster._

_"You know you're not as fast as me!" he called again, this time turning and running backwards to stick his tongue out at her._

_"Watch out!" was her only reply. He blinked at her, but before he could call back, he fell..._

-------

"What can you do?" Nozomu demanded.

"I can't garentee anything..." she muttered with a smile. "But it will not hurt him anymore if it fails."

"So do it then!" he growled. She nodded as she hesitantly reached forwards and touched Misoka's cheek... Misoka started glowing silver as she continued to glow gold. She closed her eyes as she felt the Fox-Demon's pain...

-------

_"Aki!" Nekoi jumped down after him, doing a tight flip and landing mere metres away. She rushed to his side as he groaned in pain. "Aki... Aki, are you alright?"_

_"F-fine..." he smiled, coughing up blood. "I'm just... fine..."_

_"No, no your not," her eyes shone with tears. "You have to be more careful... but rest, I can help."_

_"How?" he laughed, only to cough blood again._

_"I can take away some of your pain..." she grinned, and without asking touched his cheek. She started to glow gold as he glowed silver, and some of the blood withdrawed from his mouth... only to bleed in her's. "See? Now we share it... like everything else..."_

-------

Misoka still could feel the pain, but could sit up through it. The girl pulled back, and the glowing seemed to be nothing but a figment of their imagination, along with her tails and ears... "Thank you," Misoka bowed his head low. "You are truly a mystical creature..."

"Mystical?" her laugh was forced as she stratched the back of her neck. "That was just an... um... pressure point? Yeah... a pressure point that helps with pain..."

"Who are you?" Nozomu asked, looking her up and down. "And why do you look like a drowned rat?"

"I have that talent," she grinned. She sat back, pulling her knees to her chest. "What is this place?"

"It's a bar," Nozomu answered, pushing Misoka down to rest until he felt better. "The Moonshine... why exactly is a pretty young lady like yourself doing out in the rain, soaking wet?"

"You usually get soaking wet when you're out in the rain," she answered happily. "Now... do you need help getting him up to his room? I saw some other's down the hall."

"No," Nozomu smiled at her. "I'll be fine on my own... make yourself cosy and I'll be back in a minute, alright?" She nodded and watched as he picked up the Fox Demon and left through the door behind the bar. Breathing a sigh of relief, she fell back on her elbows and let her tails wave around her.

"That was close," she muttered, sniffing the air as she stood up. "They can't know I'm one of them... not yet at least..."


	4. Cooking

**Cooking**

Akira stirred, his nose twitching. Was that bacon he smelled? With olive oil? Onions? Who was making that heavenly smell? _Sniff. Sniff. _Scrambled eggs and french toast? An omelette? Someone had hired a cook!

He pushed himself up out of bed and whipped the sleep from his eyes before he got up and left the room. He dragged his feet down the hall, still tired, his tail was wagging out of the prospect of being able to eat someone else's cooking...

Wait, someone else was using his cooking supplies?

He shrugged to himself. None of it smelled burned, so he could forgive the person... as long as he got to eat some. He followed the smell down the stairs: Orenge juice, yum!

Stepping out into the bar, he looked towards the kitchen. Alls he could see was a small person, _sniff_, female, cutting up something. She turned to stirr the eggs and their eyes met... Chocolate brown and dark green. She stared for a few moments, before continuing.

"Akira!" he turned sharply, only to see Nozomu sitting at the bar. "I know you don't like other people using your cooking stuff, but when an angel," his eyes shifted to the girl behind Akira, "Asks for something, you don't deny it... sit down! Relax!" Akira blinked, but with a smile volted over the bar, landing neatly on a stool.

"Guess me, Dog Wonder of the world, can forgive an _angel_," he grinned hugely, transforming to show his ears, tail wagging behind him. Nozomu took one look at him and glared, warning him to control himself. Akira whined a little, but transformed back. "So... where didja come from?"

"I came from upstrais," Nozomu answered. Akira rolled his eyes.

"Not you... _her_," he pointed to the girl in the kitchen, who seemed to be finished cooking and was getting everything onto plates.

She didn't answer as she got everything onto trays next and brought it out to the bar one at a time. "Can you put these on a table?" she asked quietly before returning to the kitchen.

"You ask," Nozomu grinned, "We deliver... come on Akira, lets help the beautiful lady..."

"Don't you think she's a little young?" Akira asked, grabbing one tray as Nozomu waited for the next. After putting the tray on a table, he started flipping the chairs back upright. "I mean... she's gotta be only fifteen..."

"It's not like I'm going to sleep with her 'Kira," Nozomu grinned as Akira blushed, blinking a few times.

"Well, that's a good thing," The Werewolf nodded. "I mean, two people sleeping in the same bed? Yuck... tha's wha' marriage is for."

"I swear you purposely act dumb sometimes," Nozomu rolled his eyes, bringing over the second tray. The girl came over with the third and they all sat down. It was self serve, with several omelettes, a large bowl of scrambled eggs, sweet smelling bacon, stacks and stacks of french toast, a large pitcher of orenge juice and a bowl of sliced fruits.

The girl piled her dish with bacon, fruits, and a few scrambled eggs. She ate slowly, seeming to savior each bite, unlike the Akira who wolfed down his first serving and started on another. Nozomu satisfied himself with sipping at his orenge juice, looking at the girl intently.

Akira didn't like the look in the Vampire's eyes...

"Wa's yoor ame?" Akira asked around his food. She jumped slightly, looking up at him in confusion. He swallowed and tried again. "What's your name?" Blushing, she looked back to her plate, mumbling something as she cut up her french toast. Nozomu and Akira shared a look of confusion as they paused in the middle of their breakfasts. A mystery girl? Was she some of Crime Lord? Was she a run-away?

"A name would be nice," Nozomu said smoothly, scooting closer to her. He let his hand brush across her shoulders. He stopped when she tensed.

She pushed away her half full plate and stood up slowly. "I should get going," she smiled at them both. "The rain seems to have died down, an-... Ah... Ah-choo!"

"Bless you," both the boys said at once. "You okay?" Nozomu continued; she nodded. "Right... well, my Lovely Angel, before you leave, you get to take a shower, alright?"

"No need," she straightened up. "I'll be fine, I promise..."

"Fine, but sick," Nozomu grinned, not realising his fangs showed... Akira noticed, but the girl didn't react to them. "Come along... I'll show you where the bathroom is, and even rummage you up some clothes, alright?"

She nodded hesitantly, and walked off with Nozomu. Akira watched, blinking, before turning back to his food. _'She seems familiar...' _he thought to himself, taking another bite of the bacon. _'And so does this cooking... Ooo! These omelettes have bacon bits and chedder in them!'_


	5. An Angel

**An Angel**

She sighed as she stared into the mirror, steam starting to fill the room. Her dirty clothes were tossed as far away from her as possible and a clean set were folded neatly on the toilet. Alls she had to do was get in the shower and get all the dirt and grime off of her... but did she really want to face what was outside?

Sighing again she shut her eyes, and when she opened them she saw not herself, but two children throughout their lives. A different scene came everytime she reopened her eyes... meeting by the stream, finding fallen feathers, collecting acorns, tumbling down hills, dancing under the moonlight, being teased by the older cubs, kissing... she shook the thoughts out of her head and finally made her way into the shower.

She found the shampoo and squirted it into the palm of her hand. Massaging it into her scalp, she mused over the length of her hair. Almost mid back, much too long. She needed to cut it shorter, or he would never recognise her... _'Wait, who am I trying to impress? I don't even remember if that's me!'_ A knock at the door disrupted her thoughts.

"H-hello?" she studdered.

"Hey," it was the friendly voice of that boy, Nozomu, who had stayed with her after that other boy got hurt. She could still feel his pain shaking her bones... "You almost done? The other's will be up soon, and they'll want a shower too!"

"I'll be out in a minute!" she called, furiously washing out her hair. Quickly she scrubbed at her skin before she remember about her tails... cursing under her breath, she skipped them and shut off the water. Grabbing for the towel she patted her skin dry, wrapped it around her hair and started to get dressed in the new outfit: too large jeans and a tiny tee-shirt. Swell. She'd almost opened the door when she caught another glimpse of the mirror.

_"I hate it," the young teenager snapped, trying in vain to pull the red streaked hair out of her skull. _

_The older boy chuckled and petted her black locks. "I think it's cute..." he muttered, mirth dancing in his eyes. She turned her back on him, pouting. "Awe... don't be mad!"_

_"I'm cutting it, if only to bug you!" she hissed over her shoulder._

_"It'll still be cute."_

She rummaged through the drawers long enough to find a pair of sissors.

Mahiru yawned as she stumbled down the hall. Alls she really needed at the moment was a nice shower to wake her up... so when a complete stranger stepped out of it, she was shocked. The girl blinked at her, heavily layered hair plastered to her skin as tails whisped around her form... tails? "Um... hello?"

"Hi," the girl bowed to her. She wasn't expecting that... but the next time Mahiru looked, her tails weren't there. Was she imagining it? "Sorry... Nozomu told me to take a shower before I leave... it was nice to meet you Princess!"

Before she could register what happened, the girl had dashed down the hall and back downstairs.

Akira was cleaning the dishes when he heard the frantic running. Looking up he saw the girl come out and volt over the bar as he had done earlier... unlike what he had done, she did a neat flip and started giggling to herself as she landed, crouched on her feet. He shut off the tap and moved to lean against the counter, looking at her with a grin. She had no clue he was here!

He crept around the counter with all the stealth be could muster, not realising when his ears enlongated and a tail sprouted behind him... he just knew that when he grabbed her shoulders suddenly, she jumped, turning to glare at him. He laughed much louder than she had, and eventually she started laughing with him. Settling down after a few minutes, he just looked at her.

Why was she so familiar?

"Sorry about that," she said awkwardly, scratching the back of her neck. He grinned sheepishly as a scent came to him suddenly: Nozomu's. He could hear the boy walking down the stairs. "But I should be going soon..."

"Why don't you stay?" he asked, pouting. "Will you stay if I give you candy?"

"Sorry..." she shook her head, turning to leave. "I really, _really _have to be going... people should be looking for me by now."

"Well, they can find you here, can't they?" he asked. Nozomu was almost at the bottom of the steps...

"No," she shook her head again, looking at him. He noticed her cut hair. "You see, I thought that someone was here... someone that I've forgotten... but they wouldn't of wanted me to remember him."

"Remember who?"

"The one true love of my life," she grinned, finally turning to leave.

Akira could only think of one thing as she left, an aura seeming to shimmer around her. _'An angel...'_

_"Come on Koi," he grinned one of his grins at her, reaching out to grab her hand. The pack were all singing and dancing under the moonlight, and the girl looked stunning with all the shades of night illuminating her figure. "Dance with me?"_

_"Right, sure, like I actually know how to dance," she rolled her eyes, but took his hand anyways. She laughed as he pulled her to him, both of them almost crashing to the ground. "Woah! Slow down cowboy, I'm not going anywhere."_

_"No name calling," he teased her, easing them both into the dance..._

"Akira?" he blinked as he realised Nozomu was waving his hand infront of his face. "You okay?"

"Perfect," the werewolf grinned. "Can we go to the park later and play catch?"


	6. Memories

**Memories**

She ran as fast as she could through the field, the grasses still damp from the rain. She turned to do a cartwheel, which changed into a series of back flips before she rolled onto her back, laughing. Looking up at the murky grey skies with a smile, she breathed in the clean air around her.

Her mind drifted to the people she had met that morning… Misoka, who had been in terrible pain, Nozomu, who wouldn't stop looking at her with lustful eyes, and Akira, who she desperately wanted to return to…

_Why do I want to return to him? _She asked herself, her eyes closing as she watched the past. _I don't know him… do I?_

She curled up on her side, her tails forming to wrap around her waist in a comforting cocoon as her ears stretched out and lowered, like a sad puppy or a wolf in pain.

_/Flashback/_

"_I once was in love, such a long time ago," she sang as she looked at the picture in her hands. "With a boy in a meadow, who danced in the snow!" she hugged the picture to her as she spun around, the first snow of the winter falling on her shoulders._

_The sound of clapping stopped her, and she looked up to see a girl flanked on either side by two massive men walking up to her. "Very good," the girl cooed. "Very good indeed… but why are you here little one? Aren't you supposed to be running? You're not allowed to stay in one spot, remember?"_

_Her ears drooped low as she looked to the ground, biting her lip as she summoned up the courage to question the girl… "No… no I don't…"_

"_You don't?" the girl slowly walked up to her, rising gaze to force her to stare into dark, aqua eyes. "Tell me, little one… what don't you do?"_

"_I don't remember," the coppery taste of blood washed over her tongue as she bit her lip harder, before she spoke again. "I don't remember why I have to keep running… I only ever see bits of my pa-"_

"_It isn't your past!" her eyes widened in horror as she looked up at the menacing girl. Aqua eyes had changed to an evil yellow hue as a hand was brought back to strike her… only to miss as she dodged._

"_Why do I see it?" she asked from where she now stood, several feet away. "Why do I see a past that isn't mine? Who is that boy who I fell in lov-"_

"_You didn't fall in love with him," the girl interrupted. Her voice was calmer, though hate pooled from her eyes. "_I_ fell in love with him; I _am_ in love with him… as he is with me. You were a nuisance, a mistake that came along. Your mind tricked you into believing that it is you past that you see, and then you tried to steal him from me… now I must as you, why?"_

"_I don't know..." she muttered, tears forming at her eyes. "I… I'm sorry…"_

"_It's nothing to be ashamed of anymore," the girl smiled at her, her eyes turning back to their aqua colour. "Just do not try to steal him from me."_

"_Thus the reason I must keep running," she nodded. "I understand, Milady… I will not disappoint you again…"_

"_Good," the girl turned to walk away, though the two men stayed. "But just in case… see these two here? They shall follow you, and stay with you… if you wish you're life in solitude, you must stay ahead of them… if you wish a peaceful life with a home of your own, you must care for them, too. Remember that… remember all of this. This is the only real important thing of you past… not the things you think you remember."_

"_Yes Milady," she murmured, to quiet for any of them to hear. "I will remember…"_

_/End Flashback/_

Her real life before that was a blank… of course it was. The memories of two love birds growing up together weren't hers, but her mistress'. And the pull she felt, that she had always felt, to this city was her mistress' as well.

The pull to the Moonshine.

"They mustn't know who I am yet," she muttered to herself, thinking of those she had met earlier that morning. "But that should be fine… for I don't know who I am either."

Akira laughed from his seat in a stool, as Nozomu leaned towards him over the bar. "She was pretty," the vampire said, changing their conversation from Akira's favourite candy to Nozomu's latest challenge. "Very pretty… I wonder who she was…"

"You think everyone's pretty," Akira rolled her eyes, his tone still playful but his thoughts more somber than before. "A vulture could walk by in a wig and you'd be head over heel! Heehee… a vulture in a wig…"

"Grow up," it was Nozomu's turn to roll his eyes… but just then two people walked in. "Hey!" Nozomu shouted over top of Akira's head. The werewolf turned and looked at them… "The sign says closed!"

"Daiki?" Akira spoke, his lips moving without his conscious thought. "Hotaka? What are you two doing here?"

"Akira-dono?" the taller of the two spoke. He had dark, slated eyes and a short pony tail. "What are you doing here?"

"I could say the same to you, Hotaka," Akira hissed out. Nozomu blinked in confusion, standing up straight; why was Akira acting like this? "I said no one was to follow me when I left… so why are you here?"

"We're looking for someone else, Akira-dono!" the other man, Daiki, spoke up, his hazel eyes shining with something akin to fear. "I swear it, upon the murders of the fire!"

"Chi isn't here, is she?" the werewolves growled under his breathe as he awaited an answer.

"No, of course not," Daiki shook his head.

"Well then, leave," Akira turned away from them, crossing his arms in front of his chest.

With short, curt bows, Daiki and Hotaka both backed out of the Moonshine… but not before taking a few sniffs of the air in the room.

"Akira?" Nozomu whispered hesitantly. The werewolf turned to smile at him, mirth back in his features… but his eyes were still dark from the encounter of the two men. "Who were they?"

"Those two?" Akira laughed. "Those are just some guys from my old pack! They never really liked me that much, always picking on me and everything… but that's in the past! How 'bout some lunch? I'm starved!"

Nozomu just watched as Akira started for the kitchen, muttering words to a song he didn't recognize.

"I once was in love, not long ago… With the girl by the stream, who got lost in the snow…"


	7. Rain

**Rain**

Daiki glared at Hotaka as they left the Moonshine, but didn't say a word as they slowly started to follow the scent that had led them to the bar in the first place; the scent of a rare fox demon, who had the ability to share pain and move without a sound. She was hard to track at times, but they always caught up to her. Always.

They're searching brought them to the park, and eventually to the edge of a field. Here her scent was masked by the dewy grass, and they stood there in confusion… but not for long, as her familiar voice started to sing.

"I once fell in love, such a long time ago; with a boy in a meadow, who danced in the snow…"

The two werewolves grinned at each other as they made their way to the center of the meadow, where the fox demon lay on her back looking towards the heavens.

"There you are," Hotaka grunted from beside him, kicking her foot lightly; not hard enough to hurt, but enough to make her look up at them. "Get going… we've been here much too long."

"I just want to watch the clouds for awhile," she sighed. "I don't mind if you stay here with me… just, please don't interrupt? And be quiet?"

Hotaka opened his mouth to protest, but Daiki interrupted him with a nod. "Okay… just don't take too long, right?"

"Thank you, Daiki-san," she smiled up at him, a brilliant smile, and Daiki moved a ways away and sat down; Hotaka joined him, shooting him a look that demanded to know why he did that. He just rolled his eyes, and silently reminded himself to explain later.

------

Mitsuru walked into the room, his aqua hair mused from sleep, but no one really paid him any mind. He just walked past the group as they sat at a table, and went out the front door; Akira was highly suspicious that he was the only one who had noticed the Tengu, but dismissed the thought when he noticed Mahiru looking at the door… he went back to washing the dishes from breakfast, seeing as he wasn't really included in the conversation… not that he didn't know what they were talking about.

They were talking about Daiki and Hotaka, who had walked in while he and Nozomu were talking earlier, and about his reaction towards the two werewolves. He growled at the thought; what had they been doing here? Hotaka especially… Daiki could be civil at times.

If only they didn't listen to _her. _Her being one of the reasons he left… not the main one, of course, but getting away from _her_ had its appeals…

Who was she? She was another werewolf that he grew up with in the pack, just a year younger than him with aqua eyes and hair of honey… she was pretty, yes, and had this natural way about her that at most of the pack at her beck and call… most of.

Part of the pack had been won over by the quiet, shy young girl that Akira had found by the stream one day. She was unbelievably kind hearted, and did everything in her power to help those around her, even if sometimes she did give up a little too easily… Koi, he used to call her, for reasons some knew and others didn't; and late into the nights, when she was too tired to remember what was being said, he would tell her that Koi was the word for love; for she was his Koi, his Love…

He shook the thoughts out of his head and let his ears perk up to the conversation…

"And he just went… serious, and kinda creepy," Nozomu said, leaning farther into their little circle… he spied their reflection in a shiny steel splatter, and saw Misoka peer over his shoulder for a moment to see if he were listening. He just pretended to continue with the dishes. "I've never seen him like that."

"I saw him like that, just last night," Misoka whispered, so that he had to strain his ears to hear it. "He was acting real serious, and made a toast to the murders of fire and ice…"

"One of the guys that were here said something like that…" Nozomu remembered… Akira stopped doing the dishes, trying to hear everything that was said… "Something about murders of the fire…"

Oboro spoke next, asking Mahiru if she knew anything about these murders, but Akira stopped them. "I'm right here you know!" he growled, turning around to glare at them. "I'm standing right here, and you think that you'll be able to whisper and me not hear it? Why not just ask me what it's about?"

They all stared at him, and the weight of their gaze brought some sense to himself. He started a slow grin, scratching the back of his neck as he tried to think of something to explain his outburst…

And just then, the first of the customers started coming in, buying him some time.

They started working immediately, Misoka moving to help him with the dishes and Katsura sitting down at her piano. Oboro excused himself to the back, and Mahiru asked them if they wanted anything to eat or drink… a salad to share 'round the table, and water for everyone.

"Kinda early for customers," Misoka muttered, as Akira started chopping lettuce.

"Oh well," he shrugged. He hesitated for a moment, then continued… "About that… outburst, I'm sorry, it's just-"

"We should have asked you," Misoka nodded. "I understand, don't worry… where do you think that girl went?"

"What girl?" the werewolf asked.

"The girl that was here this morning," Misoka explained. "There's something strange about her… for a moment I thought that… no, she's probably not."

"What did you think?" Akira asked, turning to look at him. The salad was almost complete; alls it needed was the dressing.

"I thought she was one of us," the fox demon shrugged. "But she didn't act like us; then again, she could be like Mitsuru, and grew up with humans."

Akira nodded, and stood very still… a thought occurred to him, and he looked up at Misoka. "She doesn't like the rain," he said simply.

"What?" it was Misoka's turn to be confused as he looked up at Akira.

"It's going to rain soon," he answered, moving around the counter. "And she hates the rain; I'm gonna go bring her back, so that she doesn't get wet!"

Within moments, Akira left, and soon after, with a complaint about slow service, so were the people who had come for lunch. Misoka just blinked in confusion, and looked down at the counter.

"I never told him that…"


	8. Chi

**Chi**

"_Come on Koi!" he laughed and ran faster as she tried to catch up; she may be sneakier than him, but she always lost at tag. "Hurry up or they'll get us!"_

"_Who!" she complained; he frowned, as her voice was farther than he thought it should, and slowed down a little. "We've been running _forever_ now, and no one's been after us!"_

"They_ are!" he laughed, mystery laced in his voice. He had slowed up enough so that he was running beside her, as they ran the length of the stream he had found her at long, long ago…_

_With a growl she pounced at him, and he was thrown off balance… only for both of them to land in the cold water. They surfaced laughing, wadding in the deep water; there had been a flood this year, and they had to move farther inland to avoid being taken into its depths; but now it was safe._

"_Now will you tell me who was supposedly chasing us?" she asked, sending gentle waves towards him as he swam back to the bank. She followed after a few moments, and they both just basked in the sunlight._

"_Responsibility," he answered, a twinkle in his eye as he looked at her. "They're all telling me that I havta take one of the Watanabe girls as a mate, because they're 'suitable', and that I havta take over leadership… that I havta grow up and stop messing around. That you should leave…"_

"_You should take a mate," she rolled her eyes at him. "And the Watanabe girls _are_ a sensible choice… they're pretty and popular among the pack… and growing up isn't all that bad; look at me, I'm more mature than I was when we first met, and I'm still okay… as for me leaving… the pack isn't really my place. I was thinking about leaving soon anyway-"_

"_No," he looked up at her, a sharp glare in his eyes. "You're staying here. We share everything, remember?"_

"_We can't always do that," she chuckled, nudging his shoulder with her own. "I mean, you can't share your leadership with me, or your mate… and we can still be friends and what not; I just… won't be around as much."_

_They were silent for a long time, both consumed by their own thoughts. It wasn't until the sun started sinking low into the horizon that either of them broke the silence, and 'Koi stood up to leave, only for him to grab her wrist and pull her back down._

"_I've decided who I'm taking as my mate," he said proudly; she gave him a sad smile, and sighed as she looked at him._

"_Who?" she asked._

_Grinning at her ruthlessly, he kissed her._

He felt like a young cub again as he ran through the streets… he pretending hell hounds were chasing after him; and little did he know, they were.

He stopped for a moment as he sniffed the air around him, searching for that scent he had smelt that very same morning, plastered all through his breakfast and sitting in the chair beside him… it was mingled in an old trail between the scents of hundreds of others, along with the heavy smell of oncoming rain.

It was directed towards the park, so that was where he went; but not in time. The rain started to fall around him, and he moved faster, his tail waving behind him as he moved at speeds no normal boy could run… but then again, he wasn't very normal.

He just got to the park when she ran into him, literally. The sudden weight against his chest send him backwards, and she went with him; they crashed into the wet cement, and he looked up at her in a daze...

It was her; the girl who had made their breakfast and had left so abruptly, and now, layered black hair sticking to her face and looking at him with impossibly dark green eyes, she looked more familiar than ever…

"Koi?" he asked, sitting them both up so that she rested in his lap. "Nekoi… it's you, it's really you…"

She blinked at him in confusion, pulling herself up out of his lap. "I don't know who you're talking about… but I've gotta go! I _really _hate the rain!"

With that, she ran off, leaving him sitting in the park entrance… but he wasn't destined to be alone.

Hotaka and Daiki ran up soon after, looking both ways before they noticed him.

"What are you two doing here?" Akira demanded with a glare, everything slowly setting in. "Wait… don't tell me; Chi has you following Nekoi and scaring her off? Is that it!"

"Please, Akira-dono, understand that we had no-" Daiki tried to finish, but he cut him off as he stood up. He waved them away, and trembling with a fear they shouldn't have, they stepped away from him; for he was the leader of the pack he had left, whether or not he wanted to be. If they disobeyed him, they could be cast out from the pack.

"Akira-dono-" Hotaka started, pointing over his shoulder; but he didn't care.

"Be quiet Hotaka!" he snapped as he started to pace. "I left in the first place to find her, and to find out why she left; to find out why the she looked like she didn't recognize anyone the last time the pack saw her… you knew that, you _all_ knew that… I told none of you to follow me, I even did the thing everyone wanted and put Chi in order while I was gone… and what do you do? You show up at my home! Luna have mercy on your soul, because right now I won't!"

And then, just then, the most terrifying thing in the world happened… two pink-nailed hands covered his eyes, and bright red lips brushed across his ear as a voice whispered… "Calm down Akira… the ones who _really _love you couldn't just let you go…"

He pulled the hands away, and turned around to see a petite girl with aqua eyes and hair of honey… Chi Watanabe.


	9. Tengu

**Tengu's Help**

She ran as fast as she could, but it never felt fast enough; images of wolves running past her and forever onward plagued her eyes, but she couldn't beat them. They were too fast… and that damned rain!

"Fuck…" she cursed; she never cursed. "I _hate _the rain!"

Turning a corner, she ran into someone for the second time in thirty minutes… thankfully, this time they both kept their balance.

"Watch were you're going," the boy muttered at her with a glare.

She stared at his aqua hair… it was the same hue as her mistress' eyes. Ignoring her, he continued walking, and that's when she noticed his umbrella. "Kyaa!" She squealed, pouncing onto his back to stay undercover. "Please help me! I hate the rain! I _loathe _it! It's an evil, evil, _evil_ thing!"

"Get off me," he grunted, trying to shake her grasp off of his shoulder; she just held on tighter. "What do you want?"

"To get out of the rain," she said simply, lifting her feet so that all her weight rested on his back. "Just help me get somewhere that I'm outta the rain, then I'll be gone from your life forever… I promise!"

"… fine." He muttered, and continued walking; it didn't seem very awkward for him to have her on his back, and for that she was thankful. She didn't want to run anymore.

_"But… we can't…" she muttered out breathlessly, reluctantly pushing away from him; he caught her around the waist and pull her onto his chest. "I'm not even a werewolf…"_

"_I really don't care," he laughed at her, resting his forehead against hers. "Because you're my angel, my Love, my Koi. Come on Nekoi… you can't tell me that you don't want this to happen. It's the perfect solution to everything."_

"_How is it the perfect solution?" she asked._

"_We'll share everything, like we always promised," he told her, placing butterfly kisses all over her face. "I'll have a mate, like the pack wants…we'll be able to love each other, for now and forever. And as a bonus, I won't have to deal with the Watanabe girls."_

_She laughed. "Right… must love those bonuses…"_

"_Please Koi…?" he pleaded with her. "I will never force you to do anything… but you'll break my heart if you say no."_

_She looked into his brown eyes. They were so warm… how could she ever say no? With a sigh, she snuggled up to him, and muttered three little words out against his lips._

"We're here." Mitsuru shrugged her off of his back as soon as he entered the Moonshine; it was the only place he could think of to take her besides the library, which was too far away. Nozomu looked up at him, and so did Mahiru.

"Thank you," the girl said gratefully, looking at her wet clothes in vain. She did that for a few minutes as he made his way to the counter; he had to start working soon, anyways.

Nozomu walked over to him as he took off his jacket, his eyes rarely leaving the girl. "Um… where did you find her?"

"She decided that she hated rain enough to climb on my back and refuse to let go," Mitsuru answered blankly. "She wouldn't leave, so I brought her here. Why?"

"She was here this morning," the vampire grinned. "And you brought the darling angel back to us… thank you, Mitsuru." The Tengu just grunted, and went to work.

------

She tried squeezing the water out of her shirt, but the borrowed tee was smaller than the one she used to wear, and she didn't want to take it off in front of strangers… ditto for her pants. She couldn't even wring out her hair because it was too short now. Giving up in a fit of frustration, she sat down on the ground right where she was, and looked around.

She froze when she saw the familiar faces.

"So you've come back to us," Nozomu had a Cheshire grin as he walked over to her. "Just couldn't resist my charms…?"

"It started to rain," she blinked up at him innocently. "I hate the rain."

"We know," Misoka nodded from where he was seated at a table. "… Akira actually went out after you…"

"Akira?" she blinked; her memories were already kind of fuzzy about the Moonshine, and she could feel her time there slipping away even as she spoke.

"The hyperactive 'Dog Wonder'," Nozomu laughed. He helped her stand up, and lead her to the table Misoka sat at. Mahiru sat beside her.

"You're soaked!" the other girl eyed her over. "I hope you're not sick…" she reached a hand out and placed it on the girl's forehead…

She felt something jolt through her; a power similar to the one she felt when she took Misoka's pain, only it wasn't painful this time… it was almost pleasant. And she wasn't glowing.

She was changing.

Panicking, she pushed away from the table; her chair lopsided and she fell onto the floor, but her body was back under her own control… but it was too late. They all gave her knowing looks. Coming to a shaky stand, she looked at the door and made a decision: even rain would be better than this.

She bolted to the door, but someone beat her there; she thought for a moment it was a wolf, but then she looked up into the aqua framed face of the boy who had carried her here.

"Stop being a bloody cower," he glared at her. "It's pathetic."

He moved aside, giving her the right to leave if she wanted to… looking back at Nozomu, he saw her smiling. Did she really want to leave…?

With a sad little sigh, she turned and looked at them fully, her tails curling around her and her ears drooping down low. "I have to go," she told them honestly. "I can't stay here… Daiki-san is nice, but Hotaka-san doesn't like me that much, and as soon as they find me again I'll have to go. Besides, my Mistress wouldn't want me to be here. You're all so nice… but I have to go."

With a deep breathe, she turned and braved the rain.


	10. Unfolding

**Unfolding…**

Akira stared at Chi blankly, not fully registering what it meant for her to be here. Chi didn't wait, wrapping arms around his neck and kissing his cheeks; when he finally responded, it was to push her away.

"What are you doing here..?" Akira asked, straining not to yell; he couldn't disrespect her, for it was her and her family who had taken him in after the fire and taken care of him. "You're supposed to be taking care of the pack."

"The pack…" for a moment, all sinister airs were gone from all four of the weres. "Akira… I'm sorry…"

"What happened?" Akira growled, fearing the worst.

"We can't go back to them once you take me as a mate, because they've kicked me out," Chi answered easily. "They thought I took my power over them all too seriously… something about not letting them even encounter humans on a random basis…"

Akira sighed in relief. "You had me afraid that something like the Fire had happened again…" With bad thoughts pushed from his mind, he moved past her and started walking back towards the Moonshine; he wouldn't be able to pick up Nekoi's scent again until the rain had passed.

"Don't you understand..?" she grabbed onto his arm, and Hotaka even dared to step infront of him. "They don't want us to be together! They just don't understand our love…"

"Chi," Akira glared at her. "_I_ don't want us to be together either. I _left_ so that I could _find_ my chosen mate. I ended up getting new friends along the way, and a new cause, but so help me if and _when_ I return to the pack, it'll be with Nekoi, NOT _you!_"

Shrugging out of her grasp, he headed back towards the Moonshine.

------

When Akira entered the Moonshine again, the first thing he noticed was Nekoi's scent. He looked around expectantly, but didn't see her amongst the growing crowd of people… then Chi and her two 'body guards' entered as well.

"Akira," Nozomu smiled at him, almost sadly. "She came back here… but she left, just a couple of minutes ago."

"Wha…?" He blinked, and cursed silently under his breathe.

"That's lucky," Chi giggled behind him, attempting to lean into his back; he side-stepped away from her, causing her to stagger.

"Don't touch me," he hissed at her, then headed towards the bar.

"Who're you're friends?" Nozomu asked; everyone else was either waiting tables or taking a turn singing.

"They're not friends," Akira muttered out dryly; but they followed him to the bar. "Just annoyances that don't want o leave me alone."

"But Akira-kun…" Chi pouted, sitting on a stool.

"You were here before," Nozomu grinned. "You and those other girls were the early group… you're cute."

"Thanks, but no thanks," she rolled her eyes at him.

"You're a bloody hypocrite," Akira glared at her. "You'll easily say no when someone fawns all over you, but when I tell you that I have absolutely no interest in you and that you can go burn in hell, you insist that I'm talking about someone else."

"Because no one could _ever_ love you more than me," Chi giggled.

Akira poured himself a glass of raspberry wine, and gulped it down before pouring another. "How about my mate..?" Akira asked. "Bet she loves me more than you."

"She ran away before you could finish the ceremony," Chi answered cheekily, her eyes narrowing slightly at the memory of Nekoi… "How could you even think to compare my love for you to a run away..?"

"Because I love her back..?" Akira challenged, downing another glass; and idea came to him. "It was probably you're bloody fault she left, anyways. And _because_ she never finished the ceremony, you shouldn't be pining over me. Unless the bond was broken by death, then neither person in the ceremony can claim a new mate. You should know this." Alls he could do was pray she would believe it…

"That's bull," Chi rolled her eyes.

_Damn it…_ he poured more wine. _She caught my bluff._

"Um…" Nozomu blinked, looking between the two. "Akira, can I talk to you…?" He didn't waste time waiting for and answer before pulling the werewolf towards the stairs that took them to the upper floor.

"What do you want, Nozomu…?" Akira asked once they hit the top stair; the music was still loud enough that even if he hadn't had super human hearing, he would have been able to name each note.

"What's going on..?" Nozomu asked. "You have a mate? This girl just… won't even take no for an answer. It's the second time we've seen those big guys – Daiki and Hotaka? – today, and the mystery girl mentioned them before she left… speaking of that mystery girl, she's one of us."

"I know," Akira said dryly. "Her name is Nekoi. She grew up with me."

"Then… why didn't she recognize you when she first came here..?"

"I don't know," Akira sighed in frustration, and sat down on the stairs. Nozomu sat beside him. "She just… she didn't know me then. Just like she didn't know me the day I saw her before she disappeared. Just like she didn't know me when I told her who she was out in the rain today; she didn't even know herself."

"Amnesia..?" Nozomu offered. Akira blinked at him. "Hey, don't look at me like that! You're gonna have to tell me everything, in detail, once this is all said and done, but for now lets deal with this… okay?"

"Okay."


End file.
